Satpal Singh Bedi vs State
2009 Latest Caselaw 477 Del

*                   IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI

                               Judgment reserved on : February 5, 2009
%                          Judgment delivered on : February 10, 2009

+                               CRL.A. 836/2004

       SATPAL SINGH BEDI                      ..... Appellant
                 Through:       Mr. R.S.Mahla, Advocate

                                versus

       STATE                                ..... Respondent
                    Through:    Mr. Pawan Sharma, Advocate


       CORAM:
       HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE PRADEEP NANDRAJOG
       HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE ARUNA SURESH

1. Whether reporters of local papers may be allowed
   to see the judgment?

2. To be referred to the Reporter or not?

3. Whether judgment should be reported in Digest?

: PRADEEP NANDRAJOG, J.

1. Case of the prosecution is that the appellant Satpal

Singh Bedi and co-accused Sushil, with the intention to rob the

deceased Jarnail Singh had stabbed him at around 9:00 - 9:30

AM on 8.8.2003 near the railway lines at Shakur Basti and fled

after removing his belongings; as a result of the stab injuries

Jarnail Singh died.

2. Criminal law was set into motion when Bhagat Ram

PW-2, was on his way to report for duty at the Ordnance Depot,

Shakur Basti on 8.8.2003 and at around 9:30 AM saw the dead

body of his colleague Jarnail Singh, who was also an employee

working at the Ordnance Depot, Shakur Basti. The information

was conveyed to the police by means of a telephone call and at

9:55 AM, the same was recorded at PS Punjabi Bagh, vide DD

No.7 Ex.PW-20/A, by Const.Damodar PW-20.

3. ASI Om Prakash PW-16, and Const.Ashok PW-13,

went to the spot and saw the dead body of a man lying in a pool

of blood, having cut marks on the chest.

4. Inspector Rajinder Singh PW-24, then posted as the

SHO of PS Punjabi Bagh also received the information and he too

proceeded to the spot and joined ASI Om Prakash and

Const.Ashok Kumar.

5. Inspector Rajinder Singh PW-24, prepared the rukka

recording that a dead body, identified as that of Jarnail Singh,

has been recovered from the spot; and forwarded the rukka

through ASI Om Prakash for registration of a FIR. ASI Sultan

Singh PW-14, received the rukka and registered the FIR Ex.PW-

14/B at 1:30 PM under Section 302 IPC. Const.Sheesh Ram was

immediately sent with a copy of the FIR for being delivered in

the office of the Metropolitan Magistrate concerned.

6. At the spot, Inspector Rajinder Singh PW-24,

prepared the site plan Ex.PW-24/B. A stone stained with blood,

control earth and earth stained with blood were seized vide

seizure memo Ex.PW-19/A; the seizure whereof was witnessed

by SI Rajbir Singh PW-19 who had also joined the investigation in

the meanwhile.

7. Const.Jeevan PW-10, a photographer, was summoned

to the spot who took 11 photographs of the site, being Ex.PW-

10/A1 to Ex.PW-10/A11; negatives whereof are Ex.PW-10/B1 to

Ex.PW-10/B11.

8. Information was conveyed to the family members of

the deceased, whose identity was known to the police as

disclosed by Bhagat Ram PW-2.

9. Anil Kumar PW-1, the brother of the deceased

reached the site and reconfirmed that the deceased was his

brother and was named Jarnail Singh.

10. The body was sent to Sanjay Gandhi Memorial

Hospital for autopsy, where next day, i.e. 9.8.2003, Dr.V.K.Jha

PW-11, conducted the post-mortem and prepared the post-

mortem report Ex.PW-11/B. The post-mortem report records the

following injuries on the deceased:-

"Obliquely placed stab incised wound over front of left side chest size 2.5 cm x 1.5 cm x chest cavity deep, upper and inner end was acute, lower and outer end was blunt situated 2 cm left anterior midline and 23 cm blow the clavicle blood clots were present on the margin upon discussion of this injury it was observed that track perforates skin, muscles, cut fifty rib and perforates pericardium and penetrate left ventricle. Size over left ventricle was 1.8 cm x 6 cm x left ventricle cavity deep. The track directed front to back, left to right and slightly downwards. Total length of track was 5 cm. Entire track was full of infiltrated blood and blood clots. Head and neck

structure was intact. Chest cavity left side containing about 2.5 liter of blood. Fifth rib was having cut and blood clot. Other abdominal structure were normal."

11. It was opined that injury was ante-mortem and that

death was due to shock and haemorrhage as a result of stab

injuries on the chest. It was further opined that the injury was

sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature.

12. After the post-mortem, the blood gauze was

preserved. The blood stained clothes of the deceased and a

wrist watch on the wrist of the deceased were handed over by

him to Inspector Rajinder Singh PW-24, who recorded the said

fact in the memo Ex.PW-17/A.

13. The wife of the deceased Smt.Sonu Devi PW-3,

informed the police that her husband was employed at the

Ordnance Depot, Shakur Basti and used to leave his house at

around 7:30 AM to report for work and that, as per his daily

routine, on 8.8.2003 left the house at 7:30 AM to report for duty

and that when he left the house he was carrying with him a

black coloured bag which contained a comb, his glasses, his

tiffin, his identity card and a few other papers. She informed

that her husband was carrying about Rs.100/- with him in a

wallet.

14. There being no eye witnesses and no other clues

being available to the police, the investigation could not proceed

ahead till 2 days later, when on 10.8.2003, the appellant Satpal

Singh Bedi along with two other persons, namely Sushil and

Sunil were apprehended by the police in FIR No.430/2003 PS

Paschim Vihar and made disclosure statements Ex.PW-22/A to

Ex.PW-22/C to Inspector Jagdish Meena, the additional SHO of PS

Paschim Vihar. In the disclosure statements, the appellant,

Sushil and Sunil disclosed to the police of their involvement in

the murder of Jarnail Singh; the murder being committed while

robbing Jarnail Singh. As per the police personnel of PS Paschim

Vihar the shirt worn by the appellant and the shirt worn by co-

accused Sushil were stained with blood and the same were

seized vide seizure memo Ex.PW-21/C and Ex.PW-21/B.

15. This information was conveyed to the SHO of PS

Punjabi Bagh. An application was filed in the Court of the

learned Metropolitan Magistrate and police remand was

obtained to interrogate the appellant, Sushil and Sunil pertaining

to the murder of Jarnail Singh.

16. Sushil made a disclosure statement Ex.PW-22/C that

he had hidden the dagger with which the deceased was

murdered and that he could get the same recovered. He led the

police to a wall near Mangol Puri Station and dug out a dagger

which was seized vide Ex.PW-4/B and a sketch thereof Ex.PW-

4/A was prepared. The seizure was witnessed by Dilweshwar

PW-4, a public man. The dagger was stained with blood.

17. Appellant Satpal made a disclosure statement Ex.PW-

22/A that the bag, the tiffin box and the contents of the bag

namely a pen, spectacles and other articles in the bag were kept

by him in his house. He led the police to his house at Peera

Garhi and produced the bag and the tiffin box. From the bag the

identity card of the deceased, certain prescriptions pertaining to

medicine purchased by the deceased, a pair of spectacles and a

pen were recovered. The same were seized vide seizure memo

Ex.PW-4/C. The bag was found to be stained with blood.

18. We eschew reference to the disclosure statement of

Sunil for the reason he was a juvenile and pertaining to him, the

matter was referred to the Juvenile Court.

19. A few days later, Inspector Devender Singh PW-5,

went to the spot on 20.9.2003 and prepared the site plan to

scale Ex.PW-5/A.

20. The bag recovered from the house of the appellant

having blood stains thereon, the dagger, the clothes of the

deceased and the gauze containing the blood sample of the

deceased as also the shirts worn by the appellant and co-

accused Sushil were sent for forensic examination and as per

report Ex.PW-24/K were opined to be having human blood. The

blood group on the clothes of the deceased was detected as of

group „B‟. On all other objects the blood group could not be

detected.

21. A few days later the dagger which was recovered at

the instance of co-accused Sushil was sent for opinion to

Dr.V.K.Jha PW-11 who opined vide report Ex.PW-11/E that the

injuries on the deceased could have been caused by the dagger

or similar such weapon.

22. Armed with the aforesaid investigation a charge

sheet was filed against the appellant and co-accused Sushil for

having murdered Jarnail Singh. Sushil was also charged with the

offence punishable under Section 25 of the Arms Act.

23. At the trial, the wife of the deceased Sonu Devi PW-3

deposed that her husband, as usual had left the house to report

for work at the Ordnance Depot, Shakur Basti at 7:30 AM on

8.8.2003 and was carrying with him a black coloured bag

containing a comb, his glasses, tiffin, identity card and other

documents. She deposed that her husband was carrying a

purse in his pocket having about Rs.100/-. The brother of the

deceased namely Anil Kumar was examined as PW-1 who also

deposed that his brother left the house at 7:30 AM to report for

duty and that when he left the house, he was carrying with him

a black coloured bag containing his identity card and a tiffin and

a few other documents.

24. We are pained to note that the learned public

prosecutor has not bothered to get identified from the two

witnesses the bag, the tiffin box and other articles recovered

from the house of the appellant; as belonging to the deceased.

25. Dilweshwar PW-4 deposed that on 8.8.2003 he was

present at the bus-stop Peera Garhi and the police requested

him to join in an investigation. He volunteered. Sushil took the

police to a railway track under a bridge and got recovered a

knife which was seized vide seizure memo Ex.PW-4/B and he

signed thereon at point A. The sketch Ex.PW-4/A thereof was

prepared. Thereafter they went to the house of the appellant at

Peera Garhi Camp and the appellant took out a bag from which

one identity card Ex.P-3, a tiffin Ex.P-2 and other articles Ex.P-4

(collectively) were recovered. He deposed that the same were

seized vide seizure memo Ex.PW-4/C and he signed the same at

point A.

26. He was cross examined at length. Save and except

giving suggestions that he deposed falsely, which he denied,

nothing of material significance was put to him during cross

examination save and except to question his antecedents by

putting questions that there were criminal cases pending

against him and hence he was deposing at the behest of the

police. He denied the same. We note that no specific criminal

case pending against him was suggested to him.

27. Since only human blood, without identification of the

blood group thereon was detected from the bag which was

recovered from the house of the appellant and since only human

blood was detected from the shirt worn by the appellant as also

the shirt worn by co-accused Sushil, without identification of the

blood group thereon and since the knife recovered at the

instance of co-accused Sushil was detected with human blood

without identification of blood group thereon, the learned Trial

Judge held that said objects do not connect the appellant and

co-accused Sushil with the crime. However, with respect to the

recovery of the bag of the deceased, the spectacles of the

deceased, the identity card of the deceased and other papers of

the deceased from the bag which was recovered from the house

of the appellant and since the appellant gave no explanation as

to how the same reached his house, the learned Trial Judge has

held that the same was sufficient evidence to connect the

appellant with the offence and hence the appellant has been

convicted for the offence of murdering Jarnail Singh. Since a

knife was recovered at the instance of co-accused Sushil, though

not linked as the weapon of offence, the knife being of a kind

which attracts the provisions of the Arms Act 1959, Sushil has

been convicted for the offence punishable under Section 25 of

the Arms Act 1959.

28. Since the State has not filed any appeal pertaining to

Sushil‟s acquittal for the offence of murder and Sushil having not

filed any appeal, probably for the reason he underwent

imprisonment for a term in excess of what has been imposed

upon him, we need not discuss the evidence pertaining to

Sushil.

29. Pertaining to the appellant, the only evidence was of

the recovery of the belongings of the deceased from his house.

30. Where a person is found in possession of the fruits of

a crime and unless he explains as to how he came into

possession thereof, two inferences can be drawn by the Court.

Firstly that somebody sold or gave the same to him and

secondly he removed them while committing the crime. Both

would be and indeed are within the personal knowledge of the

possessor. The prosecution has no means to ascertain his

knowledge. To break the impasse, based on prudence, the test

evolved by the Courts is that if the objects/articles are recovered

soon after the crime is committed and the nature of the

object/article is not such which is expected to be purchased and

sold freely in the market or the value thereof is such that the

person from whom it is recovered has no means to purchase the

same, an inference can be drawn that he is the author of the

crime and that the articles recovered are the fruits of the crime

committed by him.

31. In the instant case, as noted above, the public

prosecutor was negligent in not getting identified the objects

recovered from the house of the appellant as belonging to the

deceased; in that, neither the wife nor the brother of the

appellant were questioned regarding the identity of the said

objects. But, what has proved fatal for the appellant, indeed is

highly fatal, that the identity card which has been recovered is

proof of the fact that the same belonged to the deceased. An

identity card speaks for itself. It contains the photograph of the

person whose identity it is supposed to identify. Add thereon

the medical prescriptions in the name of the deceased. The

same evidence, that they belonged to the deceased. Now, an

identity card and medical prescriptions are not bought and sold

in the market. Thus, in the absence of the appellant explaining

as to how the identity card of the deceased and the medical

prescriptions of the deceased reached his house, the irresistible

conclusion would be that they fell into the hands of the

appellant when he robbed the deceased who had been rendered

helpless when fatally stabbed in the chest.

32. A feverish attempt was made by urging that the

same could be planted.

33. If the police had wanted to plant something on the

appellant, the golden opportunity for the police was to remove

the watch of the deceased when they recovered the dead body

and plant the same upon the appellant. The argument made by

learned counsel for the appellant is based on the assumption

that the police had recovered the identity card of the deceased

and the medical prescriptions of the deceased from the spot or

the person of the deceased; had not entered the same in a

recovery memo; and thereafter had planted the same on the

appellant. Indeed, had the police been thinking of planting

something, what better thing other than the watch was with the

police for being planted.

34. We note that PW-4 has withstood the test of cross

examination and has proved the recovery/seizure memo Ex.PW-

4/C.

35. We find no merit in the appeal.

36. The appeal is dismissed.

PRADEEP NANDRAJOG, J.

ARUNA SURESH, J.

February 10, 2009 mm